Steelers Insider: Jones unsure of status for Thursday

Monday

Aug 26, 2013 at 12:01 AMAug 26, 2013 at 11:45 PM

Chris Bradford @BCTBradford

NOTEWORTHY

-- It might seem funny now but it was hardly a laughing matter Saturday night when first-round pick Jarvis Jones was wheeled out of Heinz Field on a gurney and taken by ambulance to a local hospital after suffering a chest injury against Kansas City. “He’s going to hear it from a lot of guys about how soft he is,” cracked LB Larry Foote. “Really, it was kind of scary when I had seen (the news) going across the TV but I texted him he and he told me he was fine. I told him they don’t make them like they used to.” Jones was returning an interception, that was nullified by a penalty, in the fourth quarter when the injury happened. “I got tackled from behind and fell on the ball. The dude fell on top of me, knocked the air out of me,” said Jones, who did not practice Monday and was still unsure of his status for Thursday night’s game at Carolina. “I’m fine, man.”

-- If Troy Polamalu is expecting to hear from the league office for his hit on Kansas City QB Alex Smith, he isn’t saying. “I don’t know,” Polamalu said Monday. The star safety was flagged 15-yards for an illegal hit to the head late in the first half of Saturday’s overtime loss. Asked if anyone from the Chiefs had anything to say to the seven-time Pro Bowler, Polamalu said only “no.” It was the lone blemish on an otherwise outstanding game from Polamalu, who was in on four tackles and forced a fumble while displaying good burst despite his bout with a nagging calf injury last season. “Lot of room for improvement, for sure,” he said.

-- Former Oakland Raiders great Ray Guy’s selection as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame ruffled feathers in some quarters last week. Punters, traditionalists will argue, aren’t deserving of bronze busts in Canton. Steelers P Brian Moorman, obviously, isn’t one of them. “We’re still part of the team and if it’s going to be a football hall of fame, then all football players should be involved,” said Moorman, a 13-year veteran. Punters, and kickers to a slightly lesser extent, have long faced the perception that they’re “not real football players.” “That’s just kind of how we’re viewed,” said Moorman, who is in a battle with Drew Butler to win the Steelers punting job this season. “We’re kind of in the background all the time.” Guy would become the first punter enshrined while only one player has ever been inducted strictly as a kicker (Jan Stenerud). Moorman believes former punter Jeff Feagles, a former teammate in Seattle, is also deserving of the Hall. “Just watching him was always a big help for me,” said Moorman.

-- A day after being acquired from Philadelphia for LB Adrian Robinson, RB Felix Jones was thrust into the Steelers’ lineup. Jones carried the ball eight times for 29 yards. “He’s still in the very early stages of understanding what it is to be in this environment and how we teach,” said coach Mike Tomlin. “We’re getting to know him, and he's getting to know us. In the midst of that, he's finding ways to be productive, and that's appreciated.”

-- WR/KR Reggie Dunn didn’t practice Monday.

-- Tomlin jokingly reprimanded oft-injured rookie RB Le’Veon Bell for being too close to the pool table in the locker room.

-- The Steelers will trim the roster down to the final 53 by 6 p.m. Saturday.

BY THE NUMBERS

7: Wins by the Steelers under coach Mike Tomlin against Carolina during the preseason (6-0) and regular season (1-0).

QUOTEWORTHY

“You never know when it’s going to happen. When it does, you have to do the right ting and take care of your body.”

LB Jarvis Jones on taking precautions Saturday night with his injury, which turned out to be a bruise.

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